Posts Tagged Paperwork
Why It’s Important to Monitor Your Personal Credit Report
D. Susan Carter asked:
Do you know why it’s so critical to check your credit reports on a regular basis? It’s very simple. When you need to obtain funds for your business through a line of credit (or loan), or when you want to apply to a new vendor, they are going to look at your credit record. If you have not made a committed effort to be sure that your information is being reported correctly, and you show up with negative items, than these lenders may not view you as being able to manage your debts well and may decide not to trust you with their money or their equipment. The best way to make sure this doesn’t happen is to regularly check your credit reports and verify that everything is in good standing.
Here is what you should be watching for:
o Items that should not be there. There are two things that you want to make sure aren’t on your report. Items that you have cleared up previously and items that never should have been there in the first place. If you previously had a negative mark on your credit report, but have been working to clear it up, you should always keep the paperwork showing the effort you made to correct this problem. All reporting agencies have a high error rate. There could easily be items on your record that were not yours, but somehow were put on your record in error. The sooner you notice them, the sooner you can have them removed.
o Anything that should be there. If you have positive credit such as paid off loans or other large debts in good standing, then you want to be sure these appear on your credit record. It is important that your credit history includes on-time, paid debts because when companies are considering extending your business a line of credit, they will evaluate you by the amount of current outstanding debt as well as previous debt that you have satisfactorily paid off.
o Is it your history? Nowadays, with identify theft running so rampant, it is not just individuals who have to keep an eye on their credit report. An identity thief can just as easily steal the financial information for your company and begin a shopping spree under your company name. Verify that all the items showing on your credit report belong to your company – whether or not it is positive or negative. Take a few minutes when you are reviewing your credit to be sure all the activity that is showing are accounts you have opened through your company. Don’t hesitate to call on anything that looks suspicious. You may just not recognize a name, but it is far better to ask that to risk a bad situation that will only get worse.
Find out more about improving your creditworthiness and learn about the various business credit bureaus. If you are going to be a successful business owner, then you need to understand how critical it is to make sure your creditworthiness is reflected accurately.
Vernon
Do you know why it’s so critical to check your credit reports on a regular basis? It’s very simple. When you need to obtain funds for your business through a line of credit (or loan), or when you want to apply to a new vendor, they are going to look at your credit record. If you have not made a committed effort to be sure that your information is being reported correctly, and you show up with negative items, than these lenders may not view you as being able to manage your debts well and may decide not to trust you with their money or their equipment. The best way to make sure this doesn’t happen is to regularly check your credit reports and verify that everything is in good standing.
Here is what you should be watching for:
o Items that should not be there. There are two things that you want to make sure aren’t on your report. Items that you have cleared up previously and items that never should have been there in the first place. If you previously had a negative mark on your credit report, but have been working to clear it up, you should always keep the paperwork showing the effort you made to correct this problem. All reporting agencies have a high error rate. There could easily be items on your record that were not yours, but somehow were put on your record in error. The sooner you notice them, the sooner you can have them removed.
o Anything that should be there. If you have positive credit such as paid off loans or other large debts in good standing, then you want to be sure these appear on your credit record. It is important that your credit history includes on-time, paid debts because when companies are considering extending your business a line of credit, they will evaluate you by the amount of current outstanding debt as well as previous debt that you have satisfactorily paid off.
o Is it your history? Nowadays, with identify theft running so rampant, it is not just individuals who have to keep an eye on their credit report. An identity thief can just as easily steal the financial information for your company and begin a shopping spree under your company name. Verify that all the items showing on your credit report belong to your company – whether or not it is positive or negative. Take a few minutes when you are reviewing your credit to be sure all the activity that is showing are accounts you have opened through your company. Don’t hesitate to call on anything that looks suspicious. You may just not recognize a name, but it is far better to ask that to risk a bad situation that will only get worse.
Find out more about improving your creditworthiness and learn about the various business credit bureaus. If you are going to be a successful business owner, then you need to understand how critical it is to make sure your creditworthiness is reflected accurately.
Vernon
How to tell if an account is yours or the person that took your identity on your credit report?
JadedSin asked:
The issue is that I found out that my mother has been using my S.S. number to open tons of accounts and she doesn’t pay her bills. I would like advise on the easiest way to figure out if an account is actually mine or not. Some of the accounts go back 2-3 years and I can’t find any paperwork from those companies in my files and I’ve never heard of their names. When you request validation from a credit card company, what do they send you as proof? How do they prove it’s actually your account? I’m just afraid that it will be very hard to prove that they are her accounts and not mine since we have the same last name and we lived at the same address. She also knows most of my personal information.
The issue is that I found out that my mother has been using my S.S. number to open tons of accounts and she doesn’t pay her bills. I would like advise on the easiest way to figure out if an account is actually mine or not. Some of the accounts go back 2-3 years and I can’t find any paperwork from those companies in my files and I’ve never heard of their names. When you request validation from a credit card company, what do they send you as proof? How do they prove it’s actually your account? I’m just afraid that it will be very hard to prove that they are her accounts and not mine since we have the same last name and we lived at the same address. She also knows most of my personal information.
Is it better to try and have this stuff removed from your file before you contact the DA’s office and file charges?
What are some of the first steps that I need to take (other then run my credit reports)?
Thanks!
LUIS
Would you find it odd if oh say a bank(Bank of America for instance) ran 14 credit checks on you in less than?
Posted by admin in Immigration on January 22, 2009
SilverPhoenix asked:
a year on your personal credit report and the only thing you hold with them(per se) is a business loan account? Just curious. Especially(just as an example of course) you’ve had done business with them the past five years and never had anything like this in any of the previous years happen?(per se)
Funny thing is i did. They hung up on me. LOL. The payments were never late. Sure did a number on my score though.
Actually from my estimate its five to 7 points per check. Yes i have copies of all my quarterly credit reports for the past five years. I’d say they’re screwed.
to kynance: Well get this, CHASE sent me a letter not a month after i dscovered this saying they lost my personal information. Hmmm. yah just coincidence right?
Trust me its bigger than it sounds.
Well, that would be fine and dandy if i was not paying two to three times the amount owed each month. I’m a stickler for paperwork. And yes i have every statement, receipt,invoice for the past 7 years. They are not looking too good here, and THEY KNOW IT.
To baby poot: Let’s just say its out of my hands now. Figured some might find it interesting. My question to them at the beginning was where did they get my social security number? Remember it was a business account.
There’s a reason why i posted this in immigration. All one would have to do is go back and look at previous questions i have posted and answers i’ve given (along with links) to be able to put two and two together. Just read them. It will not take you long to figure it out.
And yes it’s very real.
Kansieo.com
a year on your personal credit report and the only thing you hold with them(per se) is a business loan account? Just curious. Especially(just as an example of course) you’ve had done business with them the past five years and never had anything like this in any of the previous years happen?(per se)
Funny thing is i did. They hung up on me. LOL. The payments were never late. Sure did a number on my score though.
Actually from my estimate its five to 7 points per check. Yes i have copies of all my quarterly credit reports for the past five years. I’d say they’re screwed.
to kynance: Well get this, CHASE sent me a letter not a month after i dscovered this saying they lost my personal information. Hmmm. yah just coincidence right?
Trust me its bigger than it sounds.
Well, that would be fine and dandy if i was not paying two to three times the amount owed each month. I’m a stickler for paperwork. And yes i have every statement, receipt,invoice for the past 7 years. They are not looking too good here, and THEY KNOW IT.
To baby poot: Let’s just say its out of my hands now. Figured some might find it interesting. My question to them at the beginning was where did they get my social security number? Remember it was a business account.
There’s a reason why i posted this in immigration. All one would have to do is go back and look at previous questions i have posted and answers i’ve given (along with links) to be able to put two and two together. Just read them. It will not take you long to figure it out.
And yes it’s very real.
Kansieo.com
Personal Credit Report Erroneous? – Correct It!.
Abhishek Agarwal asked:
You just discovered errors in one or more of your credit reports, or even worse, accurate references to late payments or other negative issues that lower your credit scores. Take a few deep breaths and try to stay calm, because credit report errors can be fixed. It’s possible to remove many negative items, too–and without help from companies that promise to repair your credit.
How To Dispute Errors on Your Credit Report
a) Make a copy of your credit report and circle every item you believe is incorrect.
b) Write a letter to the reporting agency (the address will be printed on the report). Explain each dispute and request an investigation to resolve the issues. If you have supporting paperwork, send it along, coding pages to match dispute paragraphs. Do not send your originals.
c) Send all materials by certified mail, return receipt requested, so that you can prove the packet was received.
d) Send a similar letter of dispute to the creditor whose reporting statements you disagree with.
Refer to a billing statement to find the correct address for disputes, because it’s usually different from the payment address. If your dispute involves personal information, such as your current address, enclose a copy of your driver’s license or a utility bill in your name to verify your residence.
The reporting agency will initiate an investigation, contacting your creditors to verify the accuracy of the information. If the creditor cannot verify that the entry is correct, it must be removed. When the investigation is complete, the agency must send you a free copy of your report if changes were made.
If the investigation uncovers an error, you have the right to ask that a corrected version of your credit report be sent to everyone who received the report during the past six months.
Remember;
Contact your creditor first, and then allow a bit of lead time before you submit the dispute to the reporting agency. By the time the dispute is verified, the creditor will hopefully have corrected the error.
Internet Disputes;
You can initiate an investigation from many online credit reports by following the links provided and checking the disputed items as directed. There sometimes isn’t a place for remarks–you’ll simply check a multiple-choice reason for each dispute.
If Changes Aren’t Made
If the credit reporting agency says the original information is accurate, it must provide you with a written notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the person who made the report. If you still disagree, initiate a second investigation.
Unfortunately, in the real world the reporting agencies often try to sidestep that requirement, giving you standard, computer-generated information rather than the facts you need to find the person or department who made the negative report. Keep plugging away until you have the answer you’re looking for.
If your attempts to correct an entry are unsuccessful, you can ask the reporting agency to insert a 100-character explanation next to it that explains your side of the story.
What if You Hit a Dead End
I know from personal experience that it’s sometimes difficult to have information changed, even if you can prove it is incorrect. A family member has not been able to have an incorrect employer notation corrected, even though he has not worked at the company for many years. The standard response from the credit reporting agency is that they would not have the information if he had not included it on an application for credit.
Why did that happen? Someone likely keyed-in a previous employer as a current employer. Sometimes you simply cannot get through to them that errors exist.
Negative Entries
Bankruptcies remain on your credit report for ten years, while other types of entries are generally reported for seven years. If an account that was previously past due has been brought current, and has been either paid off or kept current for at least a year, the creditor might agree to an early deletion of the past due references.
Write a letter to your creditor and request that the negative entries be removed. They’ll often comply if they see you are up to date and handling your account in a positive way.
Another tactic you can use to clean up your credit report is to dispute a negative item even if you believe it is accurate, but you’ll have to follow your conscience to decide if that’s an ethical way to go
Caffeinated Content
You just discovered errors in one or more of your credit reports, or even worse, accurate references to late payments or other negative issues that lower your credit scores. Take a few deep breaths and try to stay calm, because credit report errors can be fixed. It’s possible to remove many negative items, too–and without help from companies that promise to repair your credit.
How To Dispute Errors on Your Credit Report
a) Make a copy of your credit report and circle every item you believe is incorrect.
b) Write a letter to the reporting agency (the address will be printed on the report). Explain each dispute and request an investigation to resolve the issues. If you have supporting paperwork, send it along, coding pages to match dispute paragraphs. Do not send your originals.
c) Send all materials by certified mail, return receipt requested, so that you can prove the packet was received.
d) Send a similar letter of dispute to the creditor whose reporting statements you disagree with.
Refer to a billing statement to find the correct address for disputes, because it’s usually different from the payment address. If your dispute involves personal information, such as your current address, enclose a copy of your driver’s license or a utility bill in your name to verify your residence.
The reporting agency will initiate an investigation, contacting your creditors to verify the accuracy of the information. If the creditor cannot verify that the entry is correct, it must be removed. When the investigation is complete, the agency must send you a free copy of your report if changes were made.
If the investigation uncovers an error, you have the right to ask that a corrected version of your credit report be sent to everyone who received the report during the past six months.
Remember;
Contact your creditor first, and then allow a bit of lead time before you submit the dispute to the reporting agency. By the time the dispute is verified, the creditor will hopefully have corrected the error.
Internet Disputes;
You can initiate an investigation from many online credit reports by following the links provided and checking the disputed items as directed. There sometimes isn’t a place for remarks–you’ll simply check a multiple-choice reason for each dispute.
If Changes Aren’t Made
If the credit reporting agency says the original information is accurate, it must provide you with a written notice that includes the name, address, and phone number of the person who made the report. If you still disagree, initiate a second investigation.
Unfortunately, in the real world the reporting agencies often try to sidestep that requirement, giving you standard, computer-generated information rather than the facts you need to find the person or department who made the negative report. Keep plugging away until you have the answer you’re looking for.
If your attempts to correct an entry are unsuccessful, you can ask the reporting agency to insert a 100-character explanation next to it that explains your side of the story.
What if You Hit a Dead End
I know from personal experience that it’s sometimes difficult to have information changed, even if you can prove it is incorrect. A family member has not been able to have an incorrect employer notation corrected, even though he has not worked at the company for many years. The standard response from the credit reporting agency is that they would not have the information if he had not included it on an application for credit.
Why did that happen? Someone likely keyed-in a previous employer as a current employer. Sometimes you simply cannot get through to them that errors exist.
Negative Entries
Bankruptcies remain on your credit report for ten years, while other types of entries are generally reported for seven years. If an account that was previously past due has been brought current, and has been either paid off or kept current for at least a year, the creditor might agree to an early deletion of the past due references.
Write a letter to your creditor and request that the negative entries be removed. They’ll often comply if they see you are up to date and handling your account in a positive way.
Another tactic you can use to clean up your credit report is to dispute a negative item even if you believe it is accurate, but you’ll have to follow your conscience to decide if that’s an ethical way to go
Caffeinated Content